Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, asked President Donald Trump’s legal team during the impeachment trial, how the Senate should weigh the possibility that the president had multiple motives when he asked Ukraine to help with investigations into his political rivals. Trump lawyer Patrick Philbin argued that all politicians have multiple motives and if Trump considered how his decision would affect the 2020 election, that cannot be considered an impeachable offense. Collins also asked the question on behalf of her fellow Republican senators Collins on behalf of Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney. “There’s always some personal interest in the electoral outcome of policy decisions, and there is nothing wrong with that,” Philbin said. “To say now, if you have a part motive for your personal electoral gain that that is going to somehow become an offense, that doesn’t make sense.” Senators had their first chance to ask questions of the House managers and President Donald Trump’s legal team on Wednesday, Jan. 29. That came after both sides were given three days, respectively, to present their case. The House of Representatives impeached Trump in December on two articles--abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The questions come ahead of a vote on whether to bring forward witnesses and documents as part of the Senate trial. The senate must now decide whether to acquit the president or convict him of the charges and remove him from office.
For more on who’s who in the Trump impeachment inquiry, read:
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